Rings Made of Iron
by ItsClydeBitches221B
Summary: Part 7 in Turn!PR series. Even with peace between the two Shatterdomes, there's a crucial bit of information that needs to be delivered in secret... So Ben and Caleb take a trip.


"Marshall Washington, at your leave I would like to formally apologize for my behavior—no, shit, that won't do."

Ben took a deep breath outside Washington's door. He paced the short area once, twice, three times before doing a sharp about-face and squaring off against the door once more. He took in another breath.

"Marshall Washington, I understand that we've had our differences, but for the sake of humanity we must… goddammit. That's even worse."

The corridor was deserted, the first time Ben had ever seen it so in the years since he'd changed alliances. That was now a thing of the past. Washington had called a Shatterdome-wide meeting in the Jaeger containment center, to tell everyone about the new treaty. It was pure formality. Everyone knew about this victory—had for a few days now—though admittedly there were some who questioned how much of a 'victory' it truly was. There were those who sneered at the mere idea that they might need the 'Oyster Marshall's' help. Others who simply didn't trust him, ironically for reasons similar to why Hewlett hadn't trusted Washington. The hope was to start changing all that.

All Ben knew for sure was that peace was a decent enough distraction. While everyone spoke of forgiveness and strategy, he paced the corridor.

Dammit. He had to get this down before Washington came back.

Ben jumped a bit, shaking out his hands and wetting his lips. "Marshall, it is with the deepest regret that I think back on our argument and I—"

"HEY THERE, BENNY BOY!"

" _Jesus fuck!_ "

Ben hurtled three feet into the air, landing and turning to find a cackling Caleb peaking around the corner.

"Ah man," he said, slapping his knee. "You should have seen your face! I knew you had a mouth on you but wooo eee, don't hear a cry like that too often, do we? My, my, what would our dear Marshall think?"

Ben tugged down his shirt with a sharp gesture. "Why don't you ask him? You know, since you're supposed to _be at the meeting?_ What the hell, Caleb."

"Meeting smeeting," Caleb waved a hand. "Everyone and their mother knows Hewlett and Washington are kissy-kissy now" ("Oh my god, Caleb, _stop_."), "So why should I be wasting my time listening to dear old George go on about 'loyalty,' and 'humanity,' and 'banding together'?" Each example was emphasized by straightened shoulders and a grandiose voice. "The more interesting question here is why _you're_ not at the meeting, Benny Boy. Let me guess, Washington's refusal to drift still got you in the dumps?"

Ben scowled. Leave it to Caleb to be 100% right, not that it was easy to keep things from drift partners, even at the best of times. In truth though, the refusal was only half of it, the rest was Washington's anger… his _disappointment_. How was Ben supposed to stand up there by his commander's side, listening to him speak of loyalty while knowing that there was currently a rift between them? He couldn't lie to his people like that. If he could barely get along with Washington, who was he to expect them to get along with Hewlett?

Caleb seemed to read all this on Ben's face. His smile faded.

"C'mon, Ben. Don't be stupid." He jogged up, swinging an arm around Ben's shoulders. Ben scoffed.

"You were a whole lot nicer about this earlier."

"Yeah, well, that was days ago. Besides! You're right and Washington's wrong—no, no, no, don't give me that look. One," Caleb ticked off a finger. "Simcoe is a douche. Two, _Simcoe is a douche_. Three, he got Uncle Lucas killed, which makes him a MEGA douche. Four, you did the whole world a favor by kicking his ass. And five, if Washington doesn't want a piece of that weird-ass mind of yours anymore, that's his loss."

"One," Ben mimicked. "I'm pretty sure points one through four are the same thing. Two, you're _disgusting_."

"Don't you know it. C'mon."

"… C'mon?"

"What, you think I tracked you down just to be a dick? Eh, just shuddup, shuddup. Look, you think this meeting is only good for you moping outside Washington's door? Priorities, Ben!"

"Priorities?" He said slowly.

Caleb flashed a wicked grin. "How 'bout we give old Abe a visit?"

* * *

Talk of 'alliances' and 'loyalties' was actually quite misleading. They'd never truly been 'against' Hewlett and his Shatterdome, certainly not in the way they were against the Kaiju. They were all human after all (Caleb: "Except Simcoe") and when push came to shove, they'd always have one another's back ("Fuck Simcoe"). It was why the Woodhull's had been there, right when Ben and Washington needed them—the memory of that fight still sent a pang through him, pain as well as exhilaration—and why Hewlett had been the first on the scene the day Caleb and Ben plunged into that river. He'd been watching them. Guarding.

No, their differences had always revolved around the concrete: Who got to use what resources? What were those resources _for_? How much to spend? How much to save? What was their next move? Plan for the next attack. No. Concentrate on the civilians; cure Kaiju Blue. No. Do both. We _can't_. It was pure politics when the government was funding them, outright riots when the money was pulled. Tensions grew higher, grief on both sides, and now Ben knew there were paranoid thoughts regarding loyalty to humanity itself. (Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous). Washington and Hewlett had quickly decided to do the only thing two opinionated, powerful men could do in their situation: split up. They'd focus on what they each thought was most important, essentially fighting two distinct battles, but they'd always been serving in the same war.

Still. That sort of secrecy got people killed. It had taken Ben months to learn that Hewlett had an abundance of the petroleum needed to power parts of the Jaegers—Anna's team had developed ways around the dependency. They in turn had been hoarding more medications than their ever-shrinking Shatterdome could possibly need. How many of Hewlett's drift drunk rangers could have been helped by what was gathering dust in their medical?

It came down to common sense over blind devotion, and for the first time since switching sides Ben had essentially said 'screw you' to Washington.

Well. Not exactly.

He'd helped with something… his Marshall may not have _approved_ of. They'd only done it once or twice, this passing of information. It certainly required more work than a group of war-weary soldiers had time for. They'd worked the system out, in quick, hushed whispers during their last, public gathering. Hewlett's Shatterdome was unique in keeping their Jaegers outdoors. Part of it was pure practicality—Washington had taken the main base after the split, Hewlett's 'Shatterdom' hardly half its size—but it was mostly for public support. The people loved seeing the Jaegers gleaming out in the sun, a real, life-sized advertisement. The fact that opinion had taken a nose dive with the creation of the Wall hardly mattered. It wasn't like the Jaegers were going to rust out there. Hell, Ben respected Hewlett for his balls in that regard, showing off what the people no longer wanted to see.

The point of all this was that they knew the Jaegers were an access point, one Anna had a direct link to. On the first day of every month she'd do a "routine check," and without fail Caleb would be waiting in the bushes, far out of Hewlett's reach. If Anna had anything of importance to report, she'd power up the kinetic shotgun, the blue shade distinguishable from miles away. The number of times she "accidentally" rebooted the system—creating a flickering blue light—designated the time that she could meet in the woods. All information would be exchanged then, in frightful (but also giddy) whispers.

The real challenge was telling their respective Shatterdomes without raising suspicious. Ben still laughed, thinking about the look their engineers had given him when he—also "accidentally"—had single handedly destroyed what little of the petroleum they had left, essentially forcing their engineers into thinking through the crisis and ultimately discovering the same alternative as Anna. Risky, sure, but if there had been an attack during that time, Hewlett would have taken it.

They had each other's backs.

"What are you giggling about over there?"

"Just thinking how ridiculous this is," Ben said. They were in the woods now, hoofing it quick over the brush. They were due for some rain soon. "Honestly, Caleb, how about we just _call_ them if you want to visit? It's not like Hewlett's Shatterdome is taboo any more."

To his surprise, Caleb was silent. He was just ahead of Ben—his face hidden.

"Caleb?"

"… you really are blind when it comes to Washington, aren't you?"

" _Excuse_ me?"

Ben grabbed hold of Caleb's sleeve, pulling the ranger to a stop. He halted willingly enough, hands immediately moving to cross over his chest, eyes rolling to the sky. Caleb huffed under Ben's glare.

"Jeez, Benny Boy, you still don't get it? This alliance… it's gonna help, sure, but when push comes to shove it's just a formality, another way to boost moral and hopefully weasel our way back into the bureaucrats' pockets. Nothing more than that."

Ben blinked. He took a step forward. "You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm always serious." Caleb's grin faded as quick as it had come. "C'mon, Ben. _Think_. What smells fishy about all this?"

"Nothing, Caleb! They've been in meetings for days now, redistributing resources, talking strategy—"

"Exactly, everything _but_ discussing the breach!"

"… the breach," Ben echoed, reeling. "The…"

"— _breach_. The single most important part of this whole damn war. The thing that's been frustrating old Nate endlessly. _The thing we were specifically told not to talk about_." Caleb scrubbed a hand over his beard. "Dammit, Ben. I didn't want to bring this up with all the other shit that's been going on, but there's no way Washington isn't keeping this under wraps. Bad enough he didn't tell Hewlett immediately after our last battle. Worse that he still hasn't mentioned it after so many so-called 'negotiations.' He's playing this close to his chest, plain and simple."

"Okay…" Ben said slowly. "Okay, except for the fact that the Marshall didn't tell us _not_ to say anything."

"Not to _you_. While you were off preaching the holy joys of seeing the great Washington's mind, the man himself paid Nate and me a visit. Guess what the subject of the day was." Caleb drew two fingers over his closed lips.

"But—"

"And you never even thought of telling anyone else, did you? Brave, loyal puppy." It would have sounded scathing coming from anyone else. "Hell, I don't blame you, Ben. You probably picked up the suggestion during your drift anyway. No way you could fight that." Caleb set off again.

After a long moment, Ben ran to catch up.

"No," he said, keeping pace.

"Yes. Sorry."

"But _why_?"

"You know why."

"Don't play games, Caleb."

"You're the one whose been inside his head. Seriously though, Benny Boy, did you expect anything else?"

When Ben took a moment to actually think about it—putting aside his respect for the Marshall and all the assumptions that came with it—he _did_ understand. For all his attributes worthy of praise, Marshall Washington was also… proud. Stubborn even. To the point of foolishness sometimes. It had become one of the strongest wedges between him and Hewlett: the awkward commander who nevertheless listened to everyone who had something to say, vs. the handsome, charming leader whose warm smile belied his ability to listen. It hadn't always been such a problem, but Ben thought that as the war drew on, as more support was withdrawn from the brass, as the public continued to crucify them… maybe Washington felt like he had something to prove.

Which was fucking stupid when you had giant monsters knocking at your door.

Ben groaned as they crested a hill, finally voicing his assent.

"He gains nothing from keeping this secret. He risks everything!"

"Yep. Which is why you and I are gonna disobey orders big time and tell Anna all about it." Caleb smiled, as happy and boisterous as if they were discussing anything other than treason. "Betcha your sweets ration she loves it."

"Fuck you, I'm not betting against that."

* * *

They'd never actually done it this way before—the boys calling on Anna, rather than the other way around. Still, they were intelligent, resourceful soldiers. They had their ways.

Which basically boiled down to Caleb sneaking up to the dormant Jaegers, hitting the emergency override (why the hell would they keep theirs _there_? Stupid Hewlett), and then running like hell before the confused swarm showed up.

One person was slightly less confused than the others. Anna made a quick pit-stop and then made a beeline for one specific supply shed. Caleb and Ben were already on their way.

* * *

Five old friends stared dumbly at one another.

Well, _four_ old friends and one addition.

"What's _she_ doing here?" Caleb cried, pointing rather rudely at Mary.

Abe scowled. "She's my wife."

" _That's_ Mary?"

"She's also my friend," Anna added, crossing her arms. For whatever reason that caustic remark was aimed at Ben. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Oh." Mary blinked. "Are we friends now?"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Caleb Brewster! _Keep your voice down_."

"I AM!"

"This is admittedly awkward…" Ben said. He looked at Abe, standing between his current wife and the woman they all assumed he'd be spending the rest of his life with. The only thing that would complete the picture would be if Selah walked through the door and started pawing at Anna.

"How's Selah doing?" she asked, reading his mind. Ben shrugged.

"Really don't see him much. Washington's got him in the bowels of the Shatterdome. Nasty work, but its got to be done."

Anna nodded, something like guilt flitting across her face.

"No, no, no," Caleb butt in, still staring at Mary. "We had a system, Anna. _You_ meet with us. You bring Abe if it's necessary. You don't drag along Abe's wife!"

"The name's Mary," she said dryly.

Abe cocked a thumb. "Yeah, man. _Mary_."

"You're despicable, Brewster."

Caleb groaned, running a hand down his face. "Why not Abigail if you wanted to add to this party?"

"Because Abigail works for Andre." Anna waved aside their concerns. "Just listen. She's the best engineer we've got—" ("Second best," Ben interrupted softly). "And that stupid charmer has her working on his Jaeger day and night. The last thing we need is John-fucking-Andre realizing we're meeting on the side. I trust Abby, really, but I'm not putting her in the position where she has to try and hide something from that man. Besides," Anna nudged Mary in the shoulder. "Figured it would be good to have a doctor with us. Just in case."

"Speaking of…" Mary was suddenly right in front of Ben, forcing him to stumble back. "How long have you had that bruising along your eye?"

"Uh…."

"Since Simcoe," Caleb said. ("The bastard's way worse off," Abe muttered and they high fived).

"Hold still," Mary demanded, producing a penlight from who knows where. After realizing that he wasn't getting saved anytime soon, Ben did as he was told—with a rather audible sigh.

Anna rocked back on her heels. "Right. So while poor Ben gets tortured," ("Ow, that hurts!"). "You mind telling me what was so important that you had to rig a Jaeger for it?" She spread her arms in a 'seriously?' gesture. "We've got _peace_ , Caleb."

His expression grew grave, a change that told all of them that, oddly enough, Caleb meant business. "Except maybe not totally," he said. "Sit down. You've got some time before you're missed, yeah? Budge over, Abe. Boy, have we got a story for you."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the group was remarkably quiet for such a rowdy bunch. Only Mary made any noise, her breath coming in quick raspy hiccups. Her eyes darted here and there, as if she expected a Kaiju to appear at any moment. For all that though, her spine remained straight and strong. She was the first to speak.

"Breach?" she said. Then laughed. Then slapped a hand over her mouth. She slowly drew down her fingers. "I thought that was just a myth."

"A theory," Caleb said, kindly now to make up for his previous behavior.

"One that Washington always believed pretty strongly," Ben added. "Sure, he thought they were man-maid at first too—who wouldn't?—but as soon as that went off the table, he assumed there must be some sort of… of… _doorway_. These things definitely aren't coming from the sky." Ben let out a chuckle similar to Mary's. "Nathaniel found the location not too long ago. However, it hasn't come to much yet…"

After another beat of silence Abe pounded a fist once against his thigh. "This is why we need to be sharing intel," he muttered.

"Right."

"But Washington isn't." Anna raised her head, dark eyes glinting.

"… No." Ben admitted. "At least, we don't think so. Look, maybe he's just waiting—"

"Shove it, Benny Boy. We've been through this. It's the biggest news since monsters started walking out of the fucking ocean. If the old man was gonna say something, he'd have done it already. First thing."

"And we're _sure_ Hewlett doesn't know?"

Abe nodded, quick. "If Hewlett knows my father is bound to. And if he knows…"

"Then you'd know," Mary finished.

"Yeah."

"Washington only bypassed all the paperwork because _Ben_ knew, right?"

"Right. Fucking drifts," Caleb muttered.

"… So what now?"

The question plunged them into another silence. None of them could answer. It had seemed imperative, just a few hours before, to tell their friends everything. Now that they had, the question of practical action paralyzed them. What _could_ they do? Tell Hewlett? It seemed the logical course of action, but was that information worth the price of peace? Surely, _surely_ if he knew Washington was keeping this from him it would pull them apart even more. If they didn't tell him… why had they even bothered to come?

"You've already got the better scientists." Anna straightened, her voice carrying—taking charge. "Don't deny it, Ben. They all followed Washington's contacts before that well ran dry. I assume they're working on this?"

"Nathaniel is." (Caleb snorted). "Washington is really keeping this tight, but I'm sure he'll pull a team together once things with Hewlett settle down."

"Fine. Then we're already doing the most we can. We'll spread a few rumors, nothing concrete, but hopefully it'll be enough to nudge our own researches in the right direction. The important thing is that if anything more is discovered, Washington can't go charging into that breach without backup. We'll raise the alarm if it comes to that, but until then… Abe?" Her eyes hit him hard. "Can you keep this from your dad?"

Hesitantly, Abe nodded. Then with more conviction. "Yeah… yeah I can. Learned how to compartmentalize years ago. I'll just have to release some other memories I don't want him seeing." He grimaced, peeking up at Mary. "You mind?"

It took a moment for that request to go through. Then…

" _Don't you dare!_ "

"Oh c'mon, Mary! Seeing us in the cockpit is better than seeing stuff that could destroy humanity's last chance at survival!"

"… You had sex in a Jaeger?" Ben gapped as Caleb howled beside him.

"I really didn't need that mental image," Anna grimaced.

Mary glared. "Make more compartments," she bit out.

"You know it doesn't work that way!"

"Woah, woah, hold up." Caleb drew between them. "As much as I love talking about you kids' sex life, who the hell taught you that, Abe? If your dad can compartmentalize, how do we know _he_ doesn't know and we're keeping this secret for no reason?" He blinked. "Wait. This is getting confusing."

Ben shoved a hand in his face and pushed Caleb aside. "Because one, we've already established that if Richard knows, Hewlett knows. And if Hewlett knows he never would have agreed to the treaty in the first place. Two, Richard beliefs don't allow for the submerging of memories. And three, _I_ taught Abe to compartmentalize."

"Oh." Caleb blinked. "Hey! Teach me sometime why don't you."

"No way. You'd suck at it."

" _Hey!_ "

"What about you, Ben?" Abe cut in loudly. "Can you keep this from Washington?"

They all went quiet. It was a rather sad smile that graced Ben's features. "You don't have to worry about that." He said. "I don't think Washington and I will be drifting again for a very long ti—"

" _Anna?_ "

The voice stilled them all, rabbits freezing in a cluster. It came from just outside.

" _Anna!_ "

"Shit!"

"—fuc—!"

"How long have we…?"

"We're bad at this, we're bad at this, we're bad at this…" Caleb muttered the phrase frantically, shoving Ben as he tripped over Abe. It was Mary who soared out, confidentially patting down her hair as she waylaid Ensign Baker. They could just make out the thinnest threads of conversation: Marshall Hewlett wished to speak with Anna immediately. Mary was fairly sure she'd seen her heading in the opposite direction…

While they spoke, Abe and Anna snuck their friends out the back.

* * *

Ben and Caleb didn't speak much during the trek to their Shatterdome. They made it back home well past dinner, yawning as they collapsed in the mess hall. They'd had to scrounge whatever was left and neither was particularly happy with the outcome.

"That was a damned waste of time," Caleb muttered. He speared what _might_ have been meat.

"It was not. And it was your idea."

"It's _your_ job to keep me from following through with ideas."

"I—"

"Ben!" They both turned to find Marty waving. The tech saluted them with his cup, already on his way out. "You missed the meeting! Marshall's been calling for you. Better hurry over quick before they dim the lights."

Ben's heart plunged.

"… worked that speech out yet?" Caleb asked and shoved a forkful of freeze-dried potatoes into his mouth.

* * *

Hours after he'd started, Ben was outside Washington's door once more. Sweating, jittering his hands, thinking.

 _Marshall, please allow me this chance to—_

"Come in."

The call cut Ben off short. Drawing in a deep breath, he opened the door.

He needn't have bothered with a speech. He needn't have tired to prepare anything at all. Washington didn't even bother to look up at him, just continued scribbling at papers that flew from one side of his desk to the other, all of them addressed to Hewlett's Shatterdome. Ben was starkly reminded of when he'd been standing here last. At least he wasn't bleeding this time.

Literally. Figuratively, however…

"Marshall…" Ben cleared his throat. "I…"

"Will be taking a trip," Washington interrupted. "There's a scientist by the name of Robert Townsend. We need him working on the breach." He finally looked up.

"You may find him a tad uncooperative."


End file.
